Evaluation and comparison of hourly and daily Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation products with the rain gauge data in the Sungai Baung district, South Sumatera

Abstract

Precipitation is a highly dynamic process, constantly changing in form and intensity as it passes over a given area. Nowadays, rainfall data required for a wide range of scientific applications can be achieved through meteorological satellites. However, the satellite data require a validation by comparing with in-situ. This study is designed to evaluate and to compare the hourly and daily precipitation obtained from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite and an Automatic Weather System (AWS) located at the Sungai Baung district, South Sumatera. Due to instrument failure, only short period from 1 November 2013 to 31 December 2014 of rainfall data were obtained from the AWS. The correlation and regression analysis were used to examine the TRMM data in this study. The results revealed that the TRMM data have significant correlation with the AWS data. On the hourly timescale, the coefficient correlation of the precipitation data is r = 0.12 (significant at 99% r > 0.043). Furthermore, the correlation significantly increases on the daily timescale, which r = 0.64 (significant at 99% of r > 0.135). In general, TRMM data can be used for estimating the precipitation over the rural or unpopulated areas where rain gauge is unavailable.